Development of a 20 Degrees of Freedom Kid Sized Humanoid Platform with Vision

A humanoid robot is a robot which has anatomy similar to the human body. They are becoming increasingly popular as research platforms, and are well suited for real world applications due to the ease with which humans perform arbitrary tasks in versatile environments. Progress of humanoid robotics is, however, inhibited due to a shortage of affordable platforms with diverse capabilities. In this work, we present a prototype of GATIK-II, a KidSize humanoid robot. This robot prototype is the second in the GATIK series of humanoid robots, and has been developed with sufficient power and capabilities so as to be employed for various applications. It has autonomous capabilities and can effectively function in a foreign environment by employing a HaViMo vision module and inertial measurement units. Alternatively, it can also be controlled in real time and via an android based mobile phone, thus exhibiting semi-autonomous mode of operation.